OnLive Unveils Tablet Control / Gaming App For Android And iPad

OnLive seems to be the only major game-streaming company that's still hanging around to see if this really is the next great breakthrough in at-home entertainment, but they took the opportunity at E3 this year to unveil an iPad an Android tablet app. Why an app? Probably not for the reasons you think. With the app installed, your slate instantly becomes a touch / motion controller or standalone cloud gaming system. It offers seamless integration with or without your HDTV, and it's the first touch / controller game with a major publisher onboard.

It's slated to ship this fall in the US and Europe, and the company's promising deeper social integration than any console announced for 2012. The OnLive Player App for iPad and Android will enable gameplay of virtually all OnLive games on an iPad and Android tablet with touch or OnLive’s new Universal Wireless Controller. In addition, the OnLive Player App allows the tablet to be used as a touch and motion controller combined with an HDTV (or PC/Mac if preferred), and allows both synchronized or independent video on the tablet and HDTV screen, enabling combined gameplay with tablet and HDTV, or separate gameplay on tablet and HDTV.

 

Full voice chat-enabled multiplayer is supported, both in-room and with others throughout the world, providing a complete multiplayer experience whether at home or on the go with a mobile device. For gamers preferring a smaller screen, OnLive will provide the exact same functionality on iPhone and Android smartphones, allowing them to be used both as game systems themselves with touch and the OnLive Universal Wireless Controller, or as a controller to an HDTV (or PC/Mac), for simultaneous or independent play.

OnLive is also unveiling as part of this experience the first 10 gigabit cloud-based full-featured browser for iPad, Android and HDTV; bringing the full richness of the Web loading from ultra-fast 10 gigabit/second Web connections to OnLive’s cloud-based servers, including support for full-featured Flash and video sites. Mobile and home devices will no longer be limited to the speed of their local connection for Web browsing or Web plug-in compatibility, opening up access to Flash games and social gaming for tablets and HDTVs.

All OnLive games played using the OnLive Player App will play seamlessly across all OnLive-compatible devices, including iPad, iPhone, Android, on HDTV via the OnLive Game System, on connected HDTV and Blu-ray/media players and on PC and Mac. The future of gaming? Only time will tell, but it certainly gives us reason to dust off our tablet.